JAAP STAM has called on the rest of his squad to step up after he confirmed that John Swift could be out of action until Christmas with ankle ligament damage.
The midfielder has been nothing short of a revelation since joining Reading on a free transfer from Chelsea in the summer, scoring four goals and twice being named as the club’s player of the month.
But the 21-year-old is now set for a spell on the sidelines after hobbling off injured in the first half of England Under-21s victory over Italy U21s in Southampton over the international break.
And Stam could not hide his frustration when he saw his star man leaving the field at St Mary’s.
“I just switched off the television immediately,” said the Royals boss.
“We don’t need to talk about Swifty like he’s the saviour of Reading but everybody knows that he is important in the way that we play.
“He’s shown this season the quality that he has at being creative, scoring goals, creating chances for somebody else and being a threat for the opposition.
“You need those players in your team.
“But you know this can happen so you need to think about other players who can play in that role in that position.
“It is a blow and it’s very bad for Swifty himself but for us as a squad as well.
“But now somebody else needs to do it.”
He added: “I’m not going to give you any names but we are working on it and thinking about what we can do to be a threat to the opposition.
“Maybe a lot of teams are thinking now Swifty is out that makes it easier for them, but hopefully the plan that I have is still going to be a puzzle for them in how they need to play against us.”
It was not all bad news on the injury front with the positive news that Deniss Rakels could return to the squad before the end of the year.
The Latvian striker broke his ankle during the EFL Cup clash with Milton Keynes Dons in August but Stam revealed his recovery is on track.
“Deniss is doing some jogging so that’s progress,” said the manager.
“He’s feeling a lot better but you still have to look at December or January before he’s match fit.
“He could play again this year – that would be nice for him.
“He’s a great guy, Deniss. If you see him he’s very positive in how he works so hopefully for him it goes quick and for us as well so that we can use him.”
Stephen Quinn (knee) is still a couple of weeks away from a return but Liam Kelly, Yakou Meite, Jake Cooper, Joseph Mendes and Roy Beerens and all available for the visit of Burton on Saturday (3pm).
And while many teams have come to Madejski Stadium this season and defended deep, Stam is not necessarily expecting the same from the Brewers.
“They’re a physical team with good players,” said the Dutchman.
“They are an attacking team sometimes as well because in the system that they play you can say they play 3-5-2 or a 5-3-2 but their wing backs play high up the pitch as well.
“They’ve got pace up front, quality in the middle of the park as well in midfield so it’s going to be interesting.
“It’s going to be a hard game as well because they’ve beaten a lot of good teams in the league.
“If we’re not focussed and sharp then for sure we are going to have a difficult time.”
